Frank Arey

Judge

Arkansas Court of Appeals

Little Rock

Frank Arey

All rise.

The newest judge on the Arkansas Court of Appeals has entered the state's halls of justice and says he hopes to stay there for a while.

Judge Frank Arey, 35, is the youngest person on the bench of the Arkansas Court of Appeals. It's a position he's held since May, when Gov. Mike Huckabee appointed him to fill the vacancy created when Judge James Cooper died earlier this year.

Arey says the appointment is an honor, and he hopes to see his way back to a seat on the court by being elected in 1998. Under state law he can't run to fill the remainder of Cooper's seat on the court but may run for another seat on the court. He will remain on the court in Cooper's position until Dec. 31, 1998.

Arey says that as a judge on the appeals court, he enjoys oral arguments.

"I always liked giving oral arguments," he says. "Now I get to participate on the other side. I enjoy discussing the law with attorneys."

Before taking a seat on the Court of Appeals, Arey worked as Huckabee's chief legal counsel. He sites his months in the governor's office as a highlight of his career.

"That opportunity is one that I will always be grateful for," he says. "I feel that I was able to contribute and learn in that position."

Arey had been in private .practice as a lawyer in Conway, where he and his wife live, from 1992 until going to work for Huckabee in 1996. He worked as a law clerk for Pulaski County Chancery Court Judge Ellen Brantley from 1991-92.

"I am one of those people who feel very fortunate to have had a series positions in a field that I really joy," he says.